As previously mentioned on DadAesthetic, my daughter loves Totoro. On the occasion of her fourth birthday, we decided to throw a Totoro/Cowgirl themed party. I know that doesn’t make much sense; but she was thrilled. The Cowgirl end was easy enough to handle. We rented a barn for pony rides and she got decked out...

When my daughter was an infant, one of our world-traveler friends brought home a cute little stuffed toy from Japan. Not being up on our anime or Japanese pop culture, we named him Chi-Chi Rodriguez and he became a constant companion as our girl grew into a toddler. Eventually, my wife and I traveled to...